For the hundredth time, Tiloo felt glad that his Dad had got transferred to Gholapur. Ever since he'd met Rosie and Jamal, every day had been packed with new and wonderful things!
The first day he had gone to school, he had sat in a corner feeling shy and unsure. That was when Rosie had waved to him. She had introduced Jamal to Tiloo and invited him to join their group. And that was how Tiloo became thick friends with Jamal and
Rosie. Tiloo had never seen anyone so full of interesting information as Rosie. Every day after school, Tiloo walked home with them, listening to everything they had to say. As they walked past a house, Rosie whispered, "Do you know who lives here?" "No," said Tiloo, waiting to hear what Rosie had to say.
"This is Keshav Sir's house! Jamal, how come we've never spoken about this to Tiloo?" asked Rosie. Jamal shrugged and blew a big bubble. "Go on, tell to him then," he said. "Tiloo, come, let's go through this small path... we can see his garden. I'll show you something there," said Rosie.
"Should we walk through this... this way?" asked Tiloo, as they weaved their way through thorn bushes. The two of them nodded fervently*. They came to a spot where they could peep through the fence. Rosie pointed to the ground which had clearly been dug up.
"You'll never guess what our Keshav Sir does in the afternoons on Sundays!" said Rosie.
Tiloo looked at Rosie and Jamal.
"He comes to this spot and digs up the place with a spade!" said Jamal.
"What for?"
"Who knows... probably he is looking for some treasure or something," said Rosie with a gleam in her eyes.
"It's our special secret, Tiloo. Don't tell anyone!" warned Jamal. Tiloo nodded his head dutifully. As they walked down the other side, he spotted a ball lying in the garden. The gate creaked as he tried to open it. Jamal and Rosie glared at him fiercely.
"What do you think you're doing?" hissed Jamal. "I thought I'll take the ball lying there," began Tiloo.
"...and risk being seen by the strange lady inside the house?" demanded Rosie. "But you never told me about that!" protested Tiloo.
"Listen, there is this lady in this house... she's supposed to be a bit loony," said Rosie.
